Monday, 30 November 2015

Domestic abuse is the focus of a wider area of study in antisocial behavior, aggressive and impulsive compulsion, and neurological study and analysis of the brain. Teresa Susmaras volunteered in this field, and used her classroom study of mental health challenges to first assess the situation which the sufferer of abuse found him or herself in.

Counselors for abuse and violence victims are vital to helping them deal with the physical and emotional disorders left by the violence, and to supporting victims as they struggle to escape their situations and find the path to a healthy life. Teresa Susmaras’ counseling is done through a processing interview, where the extent of the abuse is evaluated. Such interviews generally involve a great deal of listening, allowing the sufferer to feel some control while vocalizing feelings and worries, and in the process beginning to trust the professional.

The domestic abuse counselor is also valuable as an educator, imparting information and background about domestic violence which the victim may not have understood or been unable to articulate logically. Vocalizing abuse facts and information to sufferers of abuse gives them an opportunity to view their situations from the vantage point of knowledge, rendering insight which they may not have been able to form inside the violence. As Teresa Susmaras worked with her client victims, primary goals were to help the sufferer understand that they were not at fault for the violence; to empower them; and to allow them to establish some independence. Receivers of abuse often need to find avenues of escape through their perceptions of hopelessness, and a view of life away from the abuser.

About Me

Teresa Susmaras completed her fellowship training in clinical psychology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Her research into the origins of negative aggressive and impulsive behaviors may also contribute to new approaches to community psychology and emotion regulation, as well as more positive clinical placements, when appropriate. Susmaras’ domestic abuse volunteer counseling started very early on, during her formative years that took place during her undergraduate studies. Susmaras is accredited as a clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois. She will go on to work for one of the largest hospitals in the LaCrosse area.